McCain knocks adviser's 'nation of whiners' remark...

"Michigan is hurting today," McCain said at one point in his brief comments before taking questions from reporters. "Let's face it, America is hurting today," he said later.

But McCain had to respond to the comments from Gramm, a top economic adviser who is widely expected to play a major role in any McCain administration. In an interview with the Washington Times published Thursday, Gramm said the economy is in much better shape than Americans or the media acknowledge.

"We have sort of become a nation of whiners," Gramm told the newspaper, suggesting that the United States is in "a mental recession" rather than an economic one.

The timing could hardly have been worse for McCain as he visited the state with the nation's highest unemployment rate -- a state where McCain hopes to beat Democrat Barack Obama despite a four-election presidential winning streak for Democrats.

McCain strongly broke with Gramm's comments. "The person here in Michigan who just lost his job isn't suffering from a mental recession," McCain said.

Democrats from Obama on down seized on the comments. Appearing in Virginia, Obama derided Gramm, saying the nation already has one Dr. Phil. "When it comes to the economy, we don't need another," he said.

Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow used the comments to criticize McCain's visit: "The idea that the hardworking men and women that have lost their jobs because of the Bush policies are 'whiners' is ridiculous."

The flap is the latest of McCain campaign statements Democrats have portrayed as insensitive or that misunderstand the economy. This week, McCain called the funding mechanism for Social Security "a disgrace," prompting Democrats to accuse him of wanting to dismantle the program.

McCain was making his first visit to Michigan since May, but the campaign has been investing heavily in the state, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on television ads and building a field organization. Campaign and auto industry sources said Thursday that McCain is expected to visit a General Motors plant in the state next week; the candidate already was scheduled to hold a fundraiser at the west Michigan home of longtime GOP official Peter Secchia next Thursday.

McCain is likely to visit the GM Technical Center in Warren to see GM's concept Chevy Volt, an extended-range vehicle that the company says will travel up to 40 miles on electric power, and hold another town hall meeting, officials said.

Campaign aides have said they see an opportunity in Michigan to flip a normally Democratic state.

To do so, McCain acknowledges, he must give Michigan voters economic hope -- the goal of Thursday's event at Bayloff Stamped Products, which makes parts for U.S. and import carmakers. Speaking for about 20 minutes before taking questions, McCain recited the depressing statistics about job losses in Michigan and the nation.

"We should remind ourselves those aren't just numbers," McCain said. "Behind every one of those is a name and a family."

The answer, he said, is an economic plan built on tax cuts, which he said will boost economic growth, and lower federal spending. He also reiterated his support for free trade agreements; raising barriers to global trade, he argued, would do more damage to the U.S. economy.

But trade and other topics brought tough, skeptical questions from the audience. Two questioners said they could not vote for Obama, but were searching for reasons to back McCain.

Kathy Steigerwald of Dearborn called McCain "a true American hero," but she said she can't support him because he refuses to call for expelling the roughly 12 million illegal immigrants now in the country. "We should have someone out there rounding these people up," she said.

McCain has hammered Obama on trade, criticizing the Democrat's pledge to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and block other deals. But James Zawacki, owner of a Grand Rapids stamping company, asked McCain to justify what he called the unfair trade practices of countries such as China, drawing a promise from him to do more to crack down on unfair trade practices.

Richard Zeile of Detroit, who runs a Lutheran school in Taylor, liked what he heard. "He is sensitive to the need to be human," Zeile said. "I never thought McCain was weak on the economy."

Bayloff owner Richard Bayer called McCain's appearance "a great event."

"I liked his position that he supports free trade but he also supports fair trade," he said.

Another issue stole some of the Michigan spotlight: The financial troubles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the nation's largest mortgage finance firms. The credit crisis has sparked Wall Street speculation that the federal government might need to bail out the firms, which are chartered by Congress.

Asked about the discrepancy, McCain said he would "help the auto industry in a whole broad variety of ways," including tax credits for research and development and a $300 million prize for developing battery technology. But he did not signal any willingness to consider federal aid to the ailing Big Three.

Staff Writer David Shepardson contributed to this report. You can reach Gordon Trowbridge at (202) 662-8738 or gtrowbridge@detnews.com .

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